Help, limits and self-exclusion
If betting has stopped being a small thing and started costing you sleep, money you need or people you care about, this page is for you. It is short on purpose. It gives you one phone number, explains what the law lets you do today to stop, and lists the tools every licensed operator must give you. Nothing here judges you; the law is on your side in this.
One number
The Gambling Regulatory Authority's website shows a toll-free assistance line: 0800-723-770. The Authority is the regulator created by section 6(1) of the Gambling Control Act, 2025, and section 10(m) makes receiving and determining complaints from the public one of its functions. If an operator will not act on a request to stop, the Authority is where that request goes next.
Signs it has become harm
You bet to win back what you lost yesterday. You bet with money that was meant for rent, food, fees or a debt. You borrow, or sell something, to bet. You hide the bets, or the amounts, from someone close to you. You feel restless or low on days you do not bet. You decided to stop, more than once, and did not. Any one of these is reason enough to use the tools below. You do not need all of them.
You can shut the door: self-exclusion
Section 115(1) of the Act lets a person who recognises their gambling as harmful voluntarily enter a self-exclusion agreement with a licensee that covers all gambling, including online. Once you ask in writing, the operator must implement the exclusion within seven days; failing to do so is an offence under section 115(5), with a fine of up to KES 1,000,000 and/or one year. Section 115(4)(c) requires the operator to remove you from its marketing databases within two days of the completed notification.
The 2026 Conduct of Gambling Operations Regulations (L.N. 112) add the mechanics. Regulation 67(3) requires every online platform to offer a real-time self-exclusion mechanism, so the option should be in the app or site itself. Regulation 70(1) to (3) lets you register with the Authority instead, or as well: you apply on Form 1, state the period, attach a copy of your national ID or passport, and the Authority acknowledges within seven days. Form 1 offers six months, one year, two years or an indefinite period, and the period cannot be shortened before it expires.
Registration has teeth. Under regulation 70(5) a registered self-excluded person may not place a bet, open a gambling account, receive promotions or claim gambling winnings. Under regulation 74(1) every licensee must deny you access, refund any deposit taken in breach within seven days, cancel winnings so obtained and report attempts to the Authority. Keep a copy of what you sent and the date you sent it.
Limits a licensee must offer
Regulation 84(1) and (2) of L.N. 112 require operators to give players real-time tools: daily, weekly and monthly deposit limits; loss, session and expenditure limits; reality-check pop-ups during play; and a self-exclusion option. The Regulations set no figures, so the limit is whatever you choose, and the point is to choose it on a calm day rather than in the middle of a losing one. If you cannot find these tools in an operator's app, that is a matter for the Authority.
Other rules that protect you
| Protection | Where it says so |
|---|---|
| An operator may not advance you credit, let you bet with a credit card or pay your third-party costs. | Act, section 72(7) |
| An operator may not provide credit or make offers designed to induce you to gamble or to gamble more; breach carries up to KES 5,000,000 and/or five years. | Act, section 74(1) to (3) |
| An operator may only accept a bet covered by funds already in your account. | Act, section 73(3) |
| If your account has no transaction for three months, the operator must remit the balance to you. | Act, section 77(1) |
| Anyone under eighteen is a minor who must be kept out of gambling and gambling promotion. | L.N. 112, regulation 92(1)(c) |
What to do today
- Open the operator's app and set a deposit limit now, at a figure you would be comfortable telling someone about. Regulation 84 says the tool must be there.
- If you want to stop altogether, send the operator a written self-exclusion request and keep the copy. The seven-day clock in section 115(5) starts when they receive it.
- If you want the exclusion to cover every licensee, apply to the Authority on Form 1 under regulation 70 with a copy of your ID or passport.
- Call 0800-723-770 if an operator ignores the request, keeps sending promotions, or takes a deposit after the exclusion.
- Tell one person you trust what you are doing. The law gives you the tools; a person gives you company while you use them.
If you are under eighteen, the law says you should not have a betting account at all. Tell an adult you trust, and know that the account, not you, is the problem the law wants removed.